The drive from Ol Pejeta to Nairobi was a hot, miserable one without a working air conditioner. Eric had made an appointment at Nairobi’s Toyota dealership to get it fixed early the next morning, with the hope that we could be back on the road by early afternoon. We knew we would need our air conditioner in good condition going into Tsavo and on toward the Kenyan coast.
We didn’t know where we would stay until we got to Nairobi. All along the way, we looked at hotels online, shooting for a decent and cheap one near the Toyota dealership, but as we drove, our standards kept changing and we gave in a little more and a little more until we admitted just how tired we were and just how much we wanted a no-hassle place. We were only a quarter of the way into our month-long trip, but we splurged and decided to pamper ourselves for a night. We found a deal online for Ole Sereni, a luxurious hotel overlooking Nairobi National Park, meant to cater to safari-goers staying in Nairobi between Kenya’s other national parks. We were also on safari, although hardly not the clientele this place had in mind. They were looking for the kind of people who fly to their 5-star lodges in national parks, have drivers and rented Land Cruisers; the type of people who bought safari clothes for their adventure in exotic Africa and who would be served 5-course meals during their adventure. Needless to say, on this trip, we were not that type.
We pulled up to the hotel with our Land Cruiser covered in mud and packed to the brim. We were haggard, climbing out of the car with our sunburns, filthy bodies, and (surely) body odor. Nevertheless, the concierge met us with a smile and showed us to our room. The boys could hardly contain their energy in such a small room and immediately fell to wrestling on the bed. Pax picked up his bucket and shovels, but there was no dirt around to play in.
We took full pleasure in our stay. Although what Eric and I really wanted was to collapse on the beautifully soft bed and sleep, the boys (as always) had other things in mind. So we made use of the pool, had a nice dinner, and took long, hot showers. Before dawn the next morning, Eric took the car in to the garage to get her fixed up while I stayed at the hotel until the last possible minute with the boys, eating all we possibly could from the breakfast, and then some, stuffing our pockets with apples and croissants. The rest of the morning, we were split up, with Eric at the garage with Pax and me doing shopping and errands with Leo. Upon investigation under the hood, the A/C compressor on our Land Cruiser was kaput, and the A/C gas leak was traced to a worn out evaporator behind the glove-box, so spare parts for both were promptly sourced and replaced. Thankfully, the work was done around 3pm. We settled the bill and hit the road, aiming to make it to a roadside restaurant on the Mombasa highway, where we would camp for the night.
We arrived to Jet Inn Gardens just before nightfall. It was certainly not a destination - it was practically a truck stop with a lawn, but it was a decent stop on our way to Tsavo. We were shown a nice grassy area to set up the tent. We did a quick set-up while enjoying some sundowners and while the boys played on the playground with a large sand pile. Leo declared it his favorite place yet. We had dinner and breakfast at the restaurant and slept between the highway and the railroad tracks, hearing trucks and trains pass all through the night.
